We're delighted to announce that I Love Blue Sea has joined Vital Choice. We share the same passion for health and vitality, and we offer you easy access to an even wider variety of premium seafood that is among the purest and most nutritious available. Please accept our offer of a 10% discount on your first order. Simply use code ILOVEVC at checkout. Welcome to the Vital Choice family.

Fortunately, radiation treatment of one breast does not appear to raise the risk of developing cancer in the other breast.

But breast radiation often causes dermatitis … the painful, irritating rashes that afflict most radiotherapy patients and can force a premature halt to radiotherapy.

According to Paul Okunieff, M.D., of the University of Rochester’s Wilmot Cancer Center, “Nearly all cancer patients who get radiation treatment experience some form of skin damage – from mild sunburn all the way to blisters – that is painful for many. If we can find a simple way to help prevent that, it would make treatment a bit easier.”

A team of WCC researchers led by Ivan Ding, M.D., studied the impact of various doses of curcumin on the skin of mice with breast cancer that underwent radiotherapy.

For the study, 200 mice with breast cancer were given three different doses of curcumin for five to seven days.

On the fifth day, mice were given a single dose of radiation and scientists waited 20 days to assess skin damage.

The difference in skin damage was dramatic. “There were far fewer blisters or burns on the mice who had been given curcumin,” Ding said.

Dr. Okunieff, chief of radiation oncology at WCC, added, “This is significant because skin damage is a real problem for patients undergoing radiation to treat their tumors. If a non-toxic, natural substance can help prevent this damage and enhance the effectiveness of our radiation, that’s a winning situation.”

The scientists also found that curcumin suppressed development of new cells in the area of tumor, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of radiation treatment.

The authors opined that curcumin supplements could help prevent or reduce skin damage in human patients, and called for clinical trials.

And their call has been answered – at least in a preliminary way – with recent publication of a small “pilot” trial conducted by other University of Rochester researchers.

Preliminary trial affirms curcumin’s radiation-protection potential

The very first trial to test curcumin’s protective effects against radiotherapy-induced dermatitis comes from the University of Rochester Medical Center ... and it produced encouraging results(Ryan JL et al. 2013).